Pride of Life
by jennytork
Summary: Mileage AU: The second Deadly Sin has arrived in a small college town in Kentucky. Can the brothers and their friends stop her, or will Pride have her way? NOTE: Dean is out of character for much of this story and it is deliberate.
1. Here Comes Trouble

PRIDE OF LIFE

CHAPTER ONE

THEN

Bobby stepped onto the porch to see a familiar ebony Impala pulling into the yard. "Well, it's about time-" he began, then the rest of the sentence died in his throat.

Sam's long body was unfolding from the driver's seat. Dean climbed out of the passenger seat.

That was unusual. The visible exhaustion on both of them wasn't, but since when did Dean let Sam drive?

The strangeness of it propelled him off the porch and straight over to Dean. "You okay, son?"

"Exhausted," Dean admitted in a strangely soft voice. "Could use a hot meal and a good night's sleep."

"Yeah," Sam laughed, leaning on the Impala's roof. "In reverse order. And if you're talkin' to Dean, Bobby?" He waved. "I'm over here."

Bobby gasped. His head whipped around to look at the smaller man, who smiled a 'what-can-you-do' smile and shrugged.

"...Sam?" Bobby breathed.

The smaller man nodded. "In the truncated flesh."

" _Hey!_ " the other one roared, standing up. "Watch it, Samantha!"

That reaction alone convinced Bobby. "C'mon in...boys."

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

Ruby opened the door a fraction at Cas's knock, then opened it enough for the tree to walk in. "Boy," she said, her blonde head shaking in amusement, "when you said 'we', you meant it!"

Cas chuckled, but then she walked up to Dean, her head tilting. "Well, well. Sam Winchester. Azazel bragged often about his Boy-King Elect. Gotta say, I'm a little surprised _you're_ Castiel's 'help'." She turned to look at Sam. "And that would make Short-Stack over here Dean, wouldn't it?"

Sam, despite everything, laughed softly. "You must be the enigmatic Ruby Cas was talking about."

"'Cas'?" She turned a warm grin onto the angel. "I can't _wait_ to hear _this_ one."

"One more thing before we get started?" Dean grinned at her, genuinely amused. "You got us backward. I'm Dean." He gestured at the smaller of the brothers. " _That's_ Sam."

Startled, she looked from one to the other. "Wait - _what?_ But, I-I-" She turned huge, confused eyes to Cas.

"It's a very long story," Cas laughed. "But it can be summed up in two words. Soul. Swap."

Ruby sank, stunned, onto the bed. "Oh, _now_ you're shittin' me."

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

Wrath shrieked. "No! No, this can't happen! I'm locked-" He shoved up his sleeve, revealing an unmarked forearm. " _No!_ "

Dean's voice rose with Sam's.

" _No!_ " Wrath screamed, falling to his knees.

Jimmy's rose to join theirs.

"There are _seven_ of us!" Wrath roared. "You can't defeat us _all!_ "

"We don't have to," Loki growled. "Not today. Today?" He crouched beside the panting demon. "Today, we just have to defeat _you_."

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

Ruby opened her eyes and rolled over, sitting up. "It's over?"

"It's over," Castiel smiled at her from the foot of her bed. He handed her the knife, hilt first.

She took it, sighing. "Well, I sure wasn't any use."

"You alerted us. You allowed me the use of your knife. Without you, this could have gone on for much, much longer. You were of _great_ use, Ruby. And the soul is one step closer to being freed from Hell because of your actions."

Ruby nodded slowly. "And - my own?"

Castiel's smile grew. "Less dark."

Castiel leaned forward and embraced the demon as a piece of humanity clicked back into her tainted soul. When he felt the lone, silently shed tear splash onto his shoulder, his embrace only tightened.

Ruby Campbell was healing from Hell at long last.

NOW

Tyler Ridge, Kentucky

He bombed into his house and straight down the stairs, flinging his backpack with enough force that it created a crack as it hit the wall and sagged down into the corner.

A flick of his wrists, and the tarp over the table went flying. He opened his fingers and let it fall, forgotten, to the side.

His hands flew over the table, assembling ingredients. He would show them – all of them!

Soon, nobody would make fun of him anymore. He'd thought college students would have been more mature than that.

He wouldn't make _that_ mistake again.

Berathing deeply, he dragged a knife across his palm and allowed his blood to drip into the bowl as he read the incantation aloud from the book his friend had let him borrow. A lit match, flung into the bowl, completed the spell. He waited, a smile on his face.

The smile faded as seconds ticked by – and absolutely nothing happened. His shoulders slumped and he let out a deep sigh as he turned around.

The sigh became a bitten-off gasp as he found himself face to face with a young woman. "...what..." he gasped. "How did you get in here?"

"You called for me, David," she said. Her voice was a rich, musical purr. "And I came."

"You..." He cleared his throat. It suddenly seemed very hot in the basement, and he couldn't seem to tear his eyes from her brilliant, deep purple ones.

She smiled and pulled him close, her lips sealing firmly over his.

He moaned softly, his eyes sliding closed as he lost himself in the kiss.

And so, he missed seeing those strange eyes click black from corner to corner.

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

TWO MONTHS LATER

For once, it was not the report of unusual death patterns that brought the Winchester brothers – plus two – to the growing college town of Tyler Ridge, Kentucky.

Dean broke into his broadest smile, dimples on full display as he drove, slanted eyes sparkling with joy. "We're here!" he laughed.

The blonde woman in the back seat leaned over to whisper to her seatmate, "They really _have_ switched bodies, haven't they?"

"Yes," he deadpanned back. "Trust me, Sam Winchester would never get that excited over the state's largest pie festival."

"So tell me," she said aloud as the Impala pulled into a motel parking lot. "Why am I here with you guys?"

Dean caught her eyes in the rear view mirror as he turned off the car. "You told us that you remembered broad strokes of being human, but a lot of the details had faded. So, we got to talking, and we decided to re-introduce you to one of the best things about being human! Pie! ...and festivals, of course."

She got out of the car. "Next thing you'll be telling me is you think pie's better than fries." At his expression, she rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Sorry, Ruby," Sam laughed. "That particular affection is all yours!"

Ruby grumped as their missing fourth came out of the office with two keys. "One room for you two," he said, tossing one to Dean. "One for Ruby and me."

She smirked. "Won't that burn the hotel down? Angel and demon-"

"Who better to keep an eye on you?" he countered. "We are what we are, after all."

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

 _"We are what we are."  
_  
Cas's words rang in Dean's head as he sat at the bar, nursing a longneck.

"Hey, honey," a voice said. "You're thinkin' mighty hard."

He glanced up and chuckled at the bartender. "Yeah, it's a bad habit."

She smiled at him, brilliant violet eyes shining in the dim light. "Pretty boy like you shouldn't think so hard. Wouldn't want wrinkles on top of those lovely dimples, after all!"

He found himself laughing. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

She laughed in return. "Yeah, well. I'm Sue."

"Dean. Nice to meet you."

Sue leaned over the bar and said, "Now, is that any way to greet a friend?" Before Dean could react, her mouth sealed over his.

Dean's eyes closed and he felt himself moan softly as a warmth seemed to spread over his whole body.

He didn't see those unique eyes flare black from corner to corner.


	2. Awful Human Angel, Awful Odd Dean

CHAPTER TWO

Ruby's steady litany of complaints about having to share the motel room with an angel abruptly broke off into a snarled, gasping hiss.

"Ruby?" Castiel unfolded himself from his bed and walked over to the small bathroom's sink alcove.

He saw her gripping the vanity lip with both hands, trembling, her eyes solid black.

"Hey." He met her eyes in the mirror. Raising his hands slowly, so she could see, he lay them gently on her quaking shoulders. "hat is it?"

"Like...before..." she ground out. Then she gasped, her eyes flaring back to human blue. "...it's done."

"What was that?" Castiel asked, his hands supporting her as she slowly released the vanity. "Before?"

She nodded, panting hard. "Before. B-Back in Oak Harbor. With Wrath."

"Wrath?" Castiel gasped, turning her to face him. "You mean a Deadly is nearby?"

Ruby nodded grimly. "But it's not like Wrath. This one is being careful – using its power in small bursts. Wrath's were cranked up all the way all the time."

Releasing her, Castiel spun toward the beds, swearing.

Ruby blinked. "Did you just-"

"Unimportant," Castiel growled, fishing his cell phone out of the pocket of his discarded coat and dialing. "Sam? Ruby and I are coming over. We have a... situation." He frowned. "Great," he growled, hanging up and dialing again. "Dean!" he barked. "Get back to the room, now! We've got a situation!" He hung up and shoved his cell into his jeans, grumbling about Winchesters and bars and crap timing.

For her part, Ruby just gaped at him. "Awful human," she said slowly, "for an angel. You lose your temper, you cuss..."

"I'm pretty unique," Castiel said with a genuinely amused smile, not wanting to reveal Jimmy's existence quite yet.

"No kiddin'," Ruby scowled at him as they left their room and knocked on Sam's door.

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

Half an hour later Ruby walked into the bar and right over to Dean's stool. "Hey, handsome," she purred.

Dean actually doubletook, slanted eyes widening as he realised who it was. "Hey yourself," he replied. "What's up? Needed a break from your roommate?"

"He called you a bit ago-" She broke off, smiling slightly at Sue, who had walked over. "Nothing, thanks. Just here to collect my friend."

Sue shrugged. "Free country, honey. Man can stay long as he likes."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "We have a... family emergency."

Dean straightened. "What? What happened?"

"Tell you outside," Ruby said, sliding off the stool. Dean followed her out, and she went on, "You _do_ realise at least two people in there were demons, right?"

"No," Dean said, pulling his phone from his pocket and turning it on. "One missed call – that from Cas?"

Ruby just sighed. "Leave the damn phone on, next time! And before you stroke out on me, Sam's fine. Castiel is with him."

"Then what's-"

"A Deadly's in town."

Dean stopped in his tracks. "...you're sure."

"We're sure."

He shook his head, swearing heartily.


	3. Out of Sorts

CHAPTER THREE

"Got him," Ruby said as she walked into the motel room, Dean right behind her.

"What was that, huh?" Sam asked, spreading his hands. "You _inever/i_ turn your phone off without tellin' us!"

The glare Dean turned his way gave ample explanation of why Dean would call it a 'bitchface' when Sam had been animating those features. "So I deserved some time alone. Apparently that's a crime now!"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Not a crime – just really out of character."

"Yeah, whatever." Dean's eyes rolled expressively, making Sam's heart squeeze. The words weren't out of character, nor was the patented Winchester eye roll – but the fact that both were addressed toward _Sam_...

Sam turned to Ruby. "Where was he?"

"In a bar full of my kind," she answered. "At least two –besides me. One was the bartender."

"No way," Dean argued. "There's no way Sue is a demon!"

Eyes still on Sam, Ruby pointed at Dean. "And Goliath over there's been outta sorts since I laid eyes on him."

"I'm _fine,"_ Dean snarled.

Ruby glared at him. "You're possessed or something."

"I can't _be_ possessed," Dean growled back, jerking down the collar of his t-shirt to show her the sigil tattooed onto his chest. "And I'm _fine!"_

"No, you're -" Suddenly Ruby's voice ended in a low growl and her eyes flared black as she swayed violently.

Dean – the closest – grabbed her before she fell. "Ruby? Hey – hey!" Her eyes slowly returned to blue, and he pushed a lock of sweaty blonde hair off her face. "What the _hell,_ Ruby?"

Her mouth worked for a long moment, but nothing emerged. Then she wheezed, "She's... She's using her power again."

Castiel frowned. "Hold on – 'she'. Before, you could only tell it was a Deadly."

"And now you know it's a girl?" Dean finished.

She nodded and slowly extricated himself from Dean's grasp. "The more she uses her power, the more I can tell about her. It's definitely a Deadly, and she is definitely a she. And she is definitely in that bar!"

"And she has definitely got her claws into Dean," Sam said.

Dean threw up his hands. "This again? Just because I turned off my damned phone, you're actin' like I've completely gone insane!"

Castiel took a step forward. "I can tell if that is the case."

Crossing his arms, Dean glanced at the angel. "And no matter what you find, you'll tell me I'm crazy."

"Since when?" Sam yelped. "Since when has Cas ever lied to you?"

Ruby shook her head. "Seriously, Short-bus, that's cold. Even for you."

"Dean," Cas said, his voice calm and slow. "I promise you I will say only what is there. Nothing more or less."

"Fine," Dean said.

Castiel reached up and lay his palm on Dean's forehead, then gasped and dropped his hand.

Sam frowned. "I take it you found something."

Castiel nodded sadly, his eyes never leaving Dean's.

"Okay," Dean sighed. "Lay it on me. What is 'wrong' with me?" he asked, making quotes in the air.

Castiel's voice was slightly trembling. "Selfishness."


	4. A Deadly Revealed

CHAPTER FOUR

 _"What?"_ burst from Ruby and Dean at the same time. Sam's large green eyes narrowed as he nodded. That fit with what he'd noticed.

Ruby's eyes narrowed as well. "That... That doesn't sound like him."

Dean snorted, rolling his hazel eyes and crossing his arms. "Right. Like that's never been leveled at me before." He looked pointedly at Sam.

"We're not doing this now," Sam said. "It's not the time."

"Really?" Dean shot back. "Cas just threw the same shit in my face you've been lobbin' at me since you were fourteen. I'm sick of it – so it seems to me this is the _perfect_ time!"

"I noticed it, too," Ruby pointed out. "And, hello? When a _demon_ tells you you're actin' selfish? Yeah, I'd know a thing or two about that."

That got Dean's attention. He turned to face her. "...huh."

Ruby frowned. "You don't listen to them, but you do to me?"

Dean blinked, finally realising – "There's something wrong with that, isn't there?" When all three nodded, he sighed. "So... what do we do?"

Sam nodded toward the door. "The answers all seem to be in that bar. Ruby said she sensed four demons there."

"At least two, plus bartender makes three. The fourth was me," she corrected him.

He looked at her. "And you've got your magic blade?"

"Always," she said, turning to Castiel. "Now might be a good time."

"Agreed."He twisted his wrist, and a gleaming sword fell into his hand.

"Hey, _whoa!"_ Dean gasped, taking a step backward. "What are you gonna do with _that?"_

"An experiment," Castiel said. He lay the sword on the closest bed and Ruby lay her knife beside it. He lay his fingertips on each and closed his eyes.

Blue light flared over the runes carved into Ruby's blade. The light rose, divided, and flared down onto the silver sword. When Castiel pulled his hands away, the same runes were now etched onto the silver sword. He handed Ruby her knife and made the sword vanish with a twist of his wrist. "I'm ready."

Sam nodded. "Let's go."

 **SPN MILEAGE SPN**

The bar was dark when the small contingent walked inside. "We're closin' up," the bartender called.

"It's me, Sue," Dean called, absently brushing his hair behind his ear.

She turned and smiled. "Yes, hello, Dean. And you brought _friends!_ How nice!"

Dean couldn't help but return the smile. "Sue, this is my brother Sam, my friend Castiel, and my friend Ruby."

Sue nodded. "You know, Dean, your friends aren't human."

Ruby's eyes clicked black. "I could say the same about you."

Sue's smile widened. "Then there's no sense in hiding, is there? My name is Superbia."

Dean frowned. "Suburbia? What, the goddess of towns?"

"Superbia, Dean," Castiel corrected. "Her name is Pride."

"She's the Deadly," Sam growled.

"I am," she said. "And you? You've already lost."

"How do you figure that?" Ruby asked, then gasped, swaying, as Superbia's eyes flared purple. With an effort, she stabilised herself, grabbing onto Sam's arm.

Superbia leaned on the bar and purred, "Attend me, Pet."

The bar's door opened and three men entered. They were armed with knives of varying lengths. As they fanned out to surround the four, their eyes began to glow a vivid violet.

At Castiel's shouted, "Dean!" Sam turned to find his brother walking calmly toward the bar.

"Dean?" Sam echoed, then repeated his name in horror as Dean turned and leveled his gun at them.

Dean's face held no expression and his eyes were glowing violet, just like the three newcomers.

Superbia smirked. "You can save your breath. He's mine, now."


	5. Battling Pride

CHAPTER FIVE

"Dean!" Sam roared, his voice going rough with emotion. "Dean, don't do this!"

Superbia laughed, running her fingertips along Dean's cheek. "I'll prove he is mine." Her lips brushed Dean's ear. "Shoot him, Pet."

Dean's arm rose, the gun turning sideways. No emotion showed on his face as he leveled the barrel at Sam's forehead. No recognition showed in his glowing eyes as he -

Hesitated.

Superbia frowned. "I gave you an order, Pet. Shoot!"

"I can't," Dean said, voice flat. "It's like I'm ... shooting myself."

"That... that makes no sense." She frowned deeper. "Attack them, Pets!"

The three with knives surged forward while Superbia herself held Dean back, trying to figure out where her control had gone awry.

Ruby snarled. Off-balance from the Deadly using her power, she nevertheless kept reminding herself that she was not supposed to kill a human. No matter how much she felt they deserved it. So she used her attacker's momentum against him and threw him into the one menacing Castiel.

They went down in a tangle of limbs and didn't get back up. Castiel raised an eyebrow at her, and she couldn't resist the chuckle at how anticlimactic that seemed.

Sam dispatched his attacker with a slam of his temple into the wall and was now trying to break through to his brother. "Come on, Dean," he said. "Put it down. It's me, it's Sam. Come on, Dean!"

Superbia laughed at him. "You still harbor the delusion that you have some kind of ability to reach him!" Her laughter grew louder. "I am Superbia! I am Pride Herself! And when I have control, I am _all_ that matters!" She ran her hand through Dean's hair and added, "Not even family comes before my influence. Satisfying Pride is all that is important!"

"...Pride..." Dean whispered. "...P-Pride..."

"Yes, my darling," she purred in his ear. "I have given you pride. All I ask is your obed-" She gasped as Dean's extended arm flashed around, bringing the gun down hard onto the side of her head and spinning her to the ground.

"Pride," Dean ground out, "...Pride goes before a fall!" Shakily, he staggered toward Sam.

Sam pulled the gun out of his brother's hand and tucked it into his own waistband. His other arm wrapped around Dean's shoulders and his eyes flicked up to Castiel's.

Castiel gave a sharp nod, and Sam pulled Dean out of the bar. Once he was safe, Castiel began reciting an exorcism as the Deadly struggled to stand.

Superbia laughed. "You think that will work? Stupid child – I am not possessing this form! This is _me!"_

Castiel frowned. "Thrown body and soul into Hell," he realised.

"Good!" Ruby crowed, pouncing on the Deadly and sending her back to the ground. "Makes this easier – and more fun!"

Superbia screamed as Ruby's rune-covered blade sank into her chest. The scream turned into a gurgle as Ruby withdrew the knife and plunged it into Superbia's throat.

"Bye-bye, bitch," Ruby grinned as Pride began to burn from the inside.

Dean stiffened in Sam's hold, crying out as his eyes flared violet one final time before settling into confused hazel.

Sam let out a relieved breath. "Welcome back, Dean."

Dean looked at him, then his forehead dropped onto Sam's shoulder and he began to shake.

Inside the bar, Ruby stood while Superbia's body crumbled to dust. "How're the stiffs?"

Castiel looked over as the three slowly regained consciousness. "They will recover."

"Good." Ruby dusted off her jeans. "You mind? I'm not really good at-"

He smiled. "Get the brothers to the motel. I will get these three home."


	6. Aftermath

CHAPTER SIX

FIVE PM, THE NEXT DAY

Ruby looked up and pulled out one of her earbuds when Sam and Castiel walked in. "It's done, then."

"It's done," Sam sighed, tugging at the knot of his tie. One of the lingering annoyances of the soul swap was a physical discomfort involving neckties. "Is Dean still in the room?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, turning off Black Sabbath and popping out her other earbud. "You mean they swallowed that line of bull?"

Castiel gave her one of those strangely human grins as he pulled off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair. "Modern Americans are so inculcated that they will believe anything that reads 'science' instead of 'supernatural'."

Sam's return grin held more than a touch of little-boy glee as he said, "So a couple of EPA agents explaining that a toxic substance got into the area and the winds will have it completely cleared out within the next 12 hours? That accounts for the strange behaviours _and_ the 'optical illusion' of purple eyes."

Ruby shook her head, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "Gullible, I swear."

"Hey," Castiel suddenly said. "The parade is about to start, maybe in a half hour." At their confused looks, he shook his head and spread his hands. "We _came_ here for the Pie Festival, remember?"

"Now I do," Sam chuckled. "You two head on – I'll catch up."

Neither of them asked what the delay was. They both knew the Winchesters well enough by now to know exactly where Sam was going.

At the door, he stopped and turned around. "By the way – any way you could replicate that knife for us? Might come in handy to have in our arsenal."

Castiel smiled. "We will work on that after the Festival."

"Deal." With that, Sam left the room and walked to the next one down.

The sound of wood hitting rubber hit his ears before he was all the way in. Dean was in the far corner of the room, long body folded behind the portable electronic kit Sam had bought him. His headphones were firmly in place, and his arms were flying over the pads.

Sam glanced down at the bed and saw Def Leppard's "Pyromania" CD case lying there, empty, beside a fresh set of clothing.

That fit. Dean only played that tape in the car when he was upset, and it would make perfect sense that he would buy it on CD to bang out his frustrations. And the outfit showed he fully intended to come to the Festival once he was done.

Satisfied, Sam moved to slide out of the room unnoticed.

"Hey."

Or not. "Hey," he said, closing the door behind him. "Half an hour to the parade. Cas wanted you to know."

"I'll be there. I just-"

"I know. It's okay."

"No, Sammy. It's _not_ okay. I got a lot to make up for."

"Dean." Sam moved over and sat on the bed closest to the drums. "You were under a spell. It wasn't you."

"It _was_ me, Sammy. It's the me I always feared I'd be – the one my own family didn't even matter to."

"That's how we knew it was a spell, Dean. Beyond what Ruby claimed. You are many, many things – but we always know, to you, your family comes first. And when that wasn't the case... well."

"She wanted me to shoot you." Dean sounded very small as he tapped one of the cymbals. "And I intended to. I'm not sure why I didn't."

"I am," Sam grinned. "Pride couldn't use you if you were dead."

"What does that have to do with-"

"We're so used to it by now we barely even think about it. But Dean -" He gestured at his own head. "This face used to _be_ you."

Dean's eyes widened. "So I couldn't shoot – because that was once my body and I couldn't hurt myself?" At Sam's nod, he sighed. "That's messed up, man."

"This whole situation was messed up," Sam agreed. "But it's over. I'm glad you broke her spell."

Dean shook his head. "If she hadn't been so busy monologuing that I remembered who you were to me, I don't know if I could have."

"You would have," Sam grinned.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean sighed.

Standing up, Sam touched the drums. "I'll see you at the festival. Still a lot of pie out there."

That brought a small smile to Dean's face, dimples barely appearing. Sam returned it with a sunny smile of his own and left the room.

As he closed the door behind him, Sam heard the drums start up again. To him, it was soft clicks of wood on rubber, but he knew the full beats were audible in Dean's headphones.

Smiling, Sam walked away from the motel toward the parade, double-checking that his phone was turned on.

They had come here to have fun and had stumbled into trouble. But Sam had absolutely no doubt that things were going to be all right.

END


End file.
